I would like to explain, in "plain English", what is required when using the ECW technology in your applications. The ECW technology is contained within a "software development kit", the ECW JPEG 2000 SDK. This kit provides read and write ability for both ECW and JPEG 2000 files.
There is no difference in the license use terms between "code-closed" or "open source" applications. Both types of applications are treated the same under the ECW technology use agreement (the End-User License Agreement or EULA).
For desktop applications, at no cost, you can:
- Read any size of ECW file.
- Compress up to 500mb of uncompressed imagery into an ECW of JPEG 2000 format file.
To do this, your application is required to be able to read "ECWP streaming imagery".
If you want to compress larger file sizes, you need to purchase a paid license for the ECW technology.
Site license for desktop applications
The benefits of a paid license for the SDK are many.
- You receive the latest version of the SDK which features many, many improvements over the current, publicly available version.
These include:
- ISO standard “GML in JP2” geo-referencing meta data
- Local caching of ECWP streams (ECW code blocks/JP2 code streams)
- Opacity (NULL) channel support in JP2
- J2I index files (speed up access to JPEG 2000 files)
- ECWP auto-reconnect on loss of connection
- Better memory management for large compressions
- Windows 64 bit native support
- Visual Studio 2003/2005/2008 pre built binaries
Many optimizations and bug fixes for JPEG 2000 variants
- Unlimited Compression
- Sell your desktop application with unlimited ECW and JPEG 2000 compression - no royalty payment required
- Access to our technical support team. Non-paying users of the SDK rely on our community forums for support (http://community.erdas.com ) .
We also have a very exciting 2010 calendar year release that I am not allowed to speak about at the moment!
Note: With a paid license you still need to support ECWP, but the majority of the work is handled by the SDK. Essentially, you just need to let your application "open a file via a URL".
Purchasing a site license for desktop software means that there are no ongoing royalty payments necessary for the use of the SDK. You can sell your ECW enabled software without additional licensing charges.
For server-based applications or applications that provide "services" to many users:
This type of use, no matter the context, requires a paid license for each application installation. If you are using ECW on a server, and not paying for a valid license, you are breaking the license agreement. You should stop using the application and seek a paid commerical license as soon as possible.
To use ECW on a server "product" that you sell you should speak to ERDAS to work out a mutually beneficial arrangement beforehand to deal with ECW licensing costs. This makes the use of ECW technology a lot easier for all parties. The agreement will also include technical support for the SDK.
NB: The information presented here does not remove your need to read and understand the EULA contained within the ECW JPEG 2000 SDK. The meaning of the EULA always overrides any implied meaning in this text where there may be a perceived contradiction.